Amanda Doan was surprised in class with news she earned $40,000 for four years of college

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San Jose police Chief Eddie Garcia, right, presents a novelty scholarship check to Yerba Buena High School senior Amanda Doan, second from right, who was recognized as the inaugural recipient of the Chief's Scholarship at the East San Jose campus on April 17, 2018. From center to left is Amanda's mother Huong Pham, father Danny Doan, and Amanda's grandmother. (Robert Salonga/Bay Area News Group)

Yerba Buena High School senior Amanda Doan was recognized as the inaugural recipient of the San Jose Police Department's Chief's Scholarship at the East San Jose campus on April 17, 2018. (Robert Salonga/Bay Area News Group)

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San Jose police Chief Eddie Garcia, right, presents a novelty scholarship check to Yerba Buena High School senior Amanda Doan, who was recognized as the inaugural recipient of the Chief's Scholarship at the East San Jose campus on April 17, 2018. (Robert Salonga/Bay Area News Group)

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SAN JOSE — If your city’s police chief, district superintendent, high school principal and parents suddenly surprised you in class, more than likely you might feel uneasy.

But not 17-year-old Yerba Buena High School senior Amanda Doan, who quickly realized why they all showed up: She is the first recipient of a new San Jose Police Department college scholarship.

It’s no small honor: The newly established college fund from the San Jose Police Foundation provides $40,000 for four years of tuition and academic expenses — a huge financial relief for Doan who plans to attend UC Santa Barbara in the fall.

“This is a lot for a Tuesday morning,” Amanda said with a laugh after the impromptu in-class presentation, which included an out-sized novelty check. “I’m feeling kind of stunned. At first I was really worried about how to finance my journey to college. I thought that I would have to work multiple jobs to make ends meet. (The scholarship) means I don’t have to spend my time working when I could be studying instead.”

Chief Eddie Garcia spearheaded the creation of the scholarship, which for now is focused on students from the East Side Union High School District, with broader aims of expansion.

“Our whole role as a police department is about building stronger communities,” Garcia said. “Whether it be by taking a criminal element off the street, or whether it’s giving something back to ensure that communities and families are strengthened. We wanted to change lives for the better.”

Amanda was selected from 75 applicants and, eventually, four finalists, said Kate Levin, executive director of the San Jose Police Foundation.

Levin said the general critieria of the scholarship covered high academic performance, but also put a premium on character, leadership, and an inclination toward service.

Yerba Buena principal Tom Huynh said Amanda easily checks all of those boxes.

“She gives back to the school community, and is a very active part of the leadership,” Huynh said. “She’s vibrant, and students look up to her as a role model.”

Levin said in her scholarship interview, Amanda exuded a calm and assured demeanor that was well beyond her years.

“The (selection) committee was impressed with Amanda’s poise, and how articulate she was,” she said. “She is committed to her community, and making an impact locally and globally. She is someone who will go out and make us proud.”

Levin added that the three other finalists — Jasmine Ngo from Silver Creek, Huong Nguyen from Independence, and Katherine Nguyen from Santa Teresa — will receive one-time awards for their efforts and achievements.

Before her class was “disrupted,” Amanda was studying forensic anthropology, a sort of cosmic alignment given the police origins of her new academic windfall.

And her detection skills were on high alert Tuesday morning. She started thinking something was up when she got unexpected follow-up email messages about the status of the scholarship.

“Then it was when people I didn’t tell about the scholarship started asking me about this particular scholarship,” said Amanda, who plans to study communications.

Then she stumbled on the giveway: “I actually walked into the principal’s office and I saw my parents sitting down, I was kind of suspicious because I saw balloons.”

“I was surprised because my parents, growing up, worked seven days a week,” she said. “Seeing them here today is astonishing. They wouldn’t take time off work if it wasn’t for something as important as this.”

And keeping with the spirit of the scholarship, Amanda swiftly and astutely recognized what her selection means both for herself and other students from her community.

“I just want to thank the San Jose Police Department for funding this,” she said. “As this program grows, it’s going to impact so many students’ lives. Not just my own, but other students in East Side.”

TO LEARN MORE

For more information about the SJPD scholarship program, including how to donate to the supporting fund, go online to sanjosepolicefoundation.org.

Robert Salonga is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter covering criminal justice and public safety for The Mercury News. A San Jose native, he attended UCLA and has a Master's degree in journalism from the University of Maryland. He previously reported in Washington, D.C., Salinas and the East Bay, and is a middling triathlete. Reach him the low-tech way at 408-920-5002.

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